there is an interesting exhibition currently still on (but just for a few more days) at The Pacific Asia Museum…..

Its about Asian values, and their role in Asian art. This is a theme I hope to return to more later. Confucianism is thought to be a basis for Asian values, see here for a great summary of a talk which can give you an interesting summary of asian values and the 21st century..titled …
Rethinking Confucianism: Asian Values and the Global Ethics of Human Rights and Responsibilities by Prof. On-cho Ng of the Pennsylvania State University.

The Pacific Asia Museum has a collection of over 14,000 works of art including paintings, prints, sculptures, ceramics, jades and textiles from all over Asia and the Pacific Islands, and a research library containing more than 7,000 reference volumes relating to Asian and Pacific art and culture. It is located at 46 North Los Robles Avenue, Pasadena California 91101

I can’t go (I dont live in the US!) but if anyone reading does, please tell us how it was!!

Chinese Contemporary art. Very topical in the art scene in recent years. A field in which China is exporting something new and original, not poisoned pet foods or scandelous Milk issues.

But don’t listen to me, instead hear an audio file “The China Experience” at the bottom of this linked page by the Frieze Art Fair, where Carol Yinghua Lu (Writer, Curator and Contributing Editor, frieze magazine brought together three key players in Chinese contemporary art to discuss the impact of the country′s political, financial and creative conditions on its artists, critics, curators and gallerists.

Be warned its over an hour long though, so sit back and enjoy!!

I like some contemporary Chinese artists. These small inserts below are by Feng Dakang, and are part of a series called The Homeland. So it shows that Chinese artists can be very original….

The “Homeland” series of paintings by Feng Dakang are melancholic and thematically poetic. As the artist is obsessed with architecture, decay and destruction, he paints buildings in a state of ruin or demolition. Yet, these twisted and damaged structures are wonderfully delicate.